Mooresville, NC | 09-06-2005

Busch will Compete in No. 15 Ditech.com Chevrolet Thursday Night
NEXTEL Cup’s Latest First-Time Winner Anxious to Head to Richmond

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR

After just wrapping up his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory at California Speedway on Sunday, Kyle Busch will travel to Richmond International Raceway to compete in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions.  Busch, NEXTEL Cup’s latest first-time and youngest winner, returns to where he captured his first NASCAR Busch Series victory.  His first stab at the triple will be this Thursday night in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ Cheerios Betty Crocker 200.  Busch, for the fifth time this season, will pilot the No. 15 Ditech.com Chevrolet Silverado for Billy Ballew Motorsports.

In his four previous attempts this year in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Busch has not finished out of the top-five, with two victories, a second, and a fifth place finish in the last race at Bristol Motor Speedway a couple weeks ago.  He also captured the Bud Pole Award at Michigan International Speedway, becoming the series’ youngest pole winner.

“After the great run the No. 15 team had at Bristol, and just winning my first NEXTEL Cup race, I am really excited to getting back into the Ditech.com Chevy Silverado and running strong again,” said Busch, also the series’ youngest winner.  “Momentum can bring results, and every time I run with Billy Ballew and Richie Wauters (Crew Chief) things just click. Craftsman truck racing is just cool, and I have a Busch win there so maybe this weekend in the triple header I can secure wins at Richmond in all three series.”

Busch’s record at Richmond International Raceway is quite impressive, with his first Busch Series win and a pole coming in last year’s May event.  Following that up in the fall race, Busch recorded a top-five finish after starting in second position.  Busch also captured a fourth place finish in his NEXTEL Cup debut at RIR this past May.

“We always look forward to having Kyle with us,” said team owner Billy Ballew.  “I foresee another victory coming before this year’s done.  He runs well at Richmond, and the team went and tested there last week, so the victory may just come Thursday night.  Kyle’s done a terrific job for us this season, and we’re anxious to carry on for the remainder of the year with him.  I also want to thank Ditech.com for their support of this team.  It wouldn’t have been possible without them coming on board to support our efforts with Kyle.”

The Cheerios Betty Crocker 200 takes the green flag at 8:15 ET from Richmond International Raceway.  The race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel and MRN Radio.